


Talia's Downfall

by ImperialDiamond



Series: DCAMU Continuation [2]
Category: Batman: Bad Blood (2016), DC Animated Move Universe (DCAMU), Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020), Son of Batman (2014), Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: Alternative Perspective, Canon-Typical Violence, DCAMU, Demons, Gen, Interquel, Lazarus Pit (DCU), Lazarus Pit Madness, Mid-Canon, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Tags and warnings will be updated as the story progresses, Telepathic Bond, Telepathy, The League of Assassins (DCU), Tragedy, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:34:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29368587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImperialDiamond/pseuds/ImperialDiamond
Summary: "If only it were that easy" - Talia al GhulIf only it had been that easy to prevent what she would ultimately become. But perhaps tragedies are needed once in a while.(Set in the DCAMU during a course of events spanning "Son of Batman" and across pretty much all of the following films)
Relationships: Talia al Ghul/Bruce Wayne
Series: DCAMU Continuation [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2157321
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Talia's Downfall

**Author's Note:**

> Note: This story is an interquel to "Flashpoint 2: Advent Solaris", though reading that shouldn't necessarily be required to read this one.

_It made you romantic_

_It made me do what you wanted_

_Was it all bad, beloved?_

Talia al Ghul.

Daughter of R’as al Ghul.

Mother of Damian Wayne.

Beloved of Bruce Wayne, known to the world as the ever famous Batman.

Despite all of that though, she was now on the edge of death. Shot in the back by a certain Deathstroke right before the eyes of her own son, the last thing she remembered seeing being the gasping look on his face as he lay there - collapsing from the bleeding wound in her body. Giving herself onto the darkness, soon to be unaware of all that was going on around her.

She would not see her son’s final conflict with the man who had been terrorizing them for so long, nor would she witness her ‘beloved’ coming in to assist in that very thing - punching the assassin square in the face as literal bat monsters were flying about the cave around them as they desperately looked for a way out of the hellish lair.

The entire time, Talia was seeing nothing but blackness and hearing nothing but silence.

Peaceful, though uneasy.

That is, until she wasn’t.

Just as quickly as the blackness and lack of feeling took over her, so did the feeling of consciousness return to her - though she was not back in the cavern she had last seen. She could make out her body - the tight, black leather jumpsuit with heels she had on, her smooth light olive skin, her flowing blonde hair and of course her voluptuous chest though she was essentially floating in an empty void that itself seemed to stretch on for eternity.

An eternity of nothing, save for herself.

And a voice.

“Talia....”

A deep, echoing voice that made her gasp as she turned to it’s direction.

It was not a voice she recognized, though it was one that felt as though she should. Still, once this voice did not say anything else and instead let the dreaded silence take over again, she find it in her to speak into the darkness surrounding her:

“Who said that?” she asked, demanding “Show yourself!”

The voice, thankfully, replied:

“Do not worry” it said, “This is not to be your grave….merely your enlightenment.”

Talia wanted to question that, yet something prevented her from actually saying any words. Instead, she merely looked on in confused silence. As if sensing her confusion, the voice continued to speak to her from the darkness around her:

“I am not someone or something of which you remember, but your father had known me as a great counsel.”

“My...father?”

_This...this voice, knew my father?_

“Yes” ‘it’ answered, “Just as you stand before me now, so did he when he was with this world; the world which he was to reshape in my name, washing away the sins of mankind.”

_Wait...what?_

“I know this is only confusing you more, but your confusion is but a natural side effect of what is necessary; you need not be confused, all that is needed of you is to place your trust in me. I shall explain everything which is necessary. Just as your father did, so must you. Now that we are at last acquainted, we can truly resume everything he started. All that I ask, is for your trust.”

Though she understood what this disembodied voice was saying to her, she still was careful with her answer. All she could even muster out of her lips was but another question:

“How did you know my father? What...what are you?”

The voice emitted a soft laugh before responding:

“Your father stumbled across me many years ago, centuries in fact. It was through me that he was enlightened onto the path; the path of darkness and shadows, striking only when it was just the right moment - like that of a mighty serpent. Slowly working to reshape the world into what I envisioned, what I also made him envision. And so now, like him, I present myself to you - in the hopes that you shall listen and trust as he did.”

“My father never mentioned this to me, he never spoke a single word of you - whatever you are..”

“You did not need to know of me until now. You more than anyone should know that timing is everything. Now, I feel as though there has been enough talk; do you wish to place your trust in me and accept my enlightenment, or shall the darkness around you remain your silent solace?”

_I don’t know how much of this I believe…._

_Is this what my father saw when he would traverse into the pits? Is this ‘who’ he encountered?_

_But I did not collapse into the…._

_Unless...._

“I trust you.”

_There is but one way to find the answers for which I seek._

The voice didn’t say anything in response to her words - instead it seemed to prefer action. As Talia continued looking on in silent wonder, she saw as the darkness around her dissipated to give way to what was a blinding emerald green light; or at least a green light that shined white enough that she had to swiftly close her eyes to shield them from it. However, it did not stop her from being completely engulfed by it’s sudden embrace; her ears ringing like high pitched bells.

Within moments she could feel herself returning to the physical world - her vocal chords letting out a scream as she stood up in the glowing green waters of the lazarus pit that sat in the middle of the cave she was in, her body shifting and jolting around as her eyes were entirely white - convulsing as though she had lost complete control over it as she transformed from a corpse back to a living being, all of the bleeding wounds she had sustained healed until her skin was yet again smooth and without blemishes. Her movements were only stopped by a pair of firm hands grabbing her shoulders, firm enough to hold her until she was calmed. Until her eyes returned to their normal form and she gazed upon her beloved Bruce; the Batman, holding her gently in his arms.

Though his eyes were hidden behind the white ‘holes’ of that black, pointed-ear mask of his, she still knew very well that was him - his chin and lips were unmistakable, as was that caped, darkly dressed and muscular body of his. Upon motioning her green eyes to look at him though, she could only first give him an exhausted gasp, her head sliding down and eyes closing again as she was far too tired from everything she had experienced to do much anything else. 

Remaining in his arms, it wasn’t long before she was silently carried from the glowing green waters of the lazarus pit and found herself still cradled in Bruce’s arms - a hand on the back of her head while the other rested calmly on her back; her head resting softly on Bruce’s costumed chest.

It was a moment that part of her wished would last forever.

_I knew that you would come for me, my beloved…._

But unfortunately, they didn’t have the time for forever.

‘“I knew you would save us” Talia said, turning her head to look again at Bruce’s masked face, one of her hands draped over the side of his neck. In his usual hushed, focused Batman tone, Bruce replied:

“I haven’t yet.”

The resulting moment of silence between the two was topped off with Talia leaning in to plant a gentle kiss onto Bruce’s lips - one which he both accepted and returned, as the two continued to embrace one another.

She took it back - _this_ was the moment she wished could last forever. Even if it was in a dark cave with the only light being the green aura of a lazarus pit.

Speaking of which, it was when rocks from above began falling into those same green waters that the two were forced to break their kiss apart, accompanied by the entire cavern around them beginning to rattle - rumbling as though an earthquake was occurring. Realizing this, Talia worryingly looked to Bruce, saying but a single word:

“Beloved…” 

“This whole place is collapsing!” Bruce answered back, releasing his embrace of Talia as the two of both stood onto their feet, overlooking the now falling cave around them. It was wise of them to break into a run at that moment, seeing as how a massive cloud of dust erupted across the entire length of the ‘wall’ behind them - quickly turning into a roaring wave of the north sea waters outside of the enormous complex they were in; rushing right after the pair.

It was nothing short of miraculous that the two were able to outrun those growling waters, though largely thanks to Batman taking Talia with one arm and launching a grappling hook at a metal scaffolding he spotted up above, using it to swing both himself and Talia in the air just out of the wave’s reach in order to get just enough velocity to launch the both of them towards a hole where a glaring red light could be seen - the red light emitting from the massive primary chamber of the facility. Landing on one of the suspended catwalks, the two wasted no time in running to find the most practical path out.

However, as she followed Bruce she still had her other ‘man’ on her mind:

_I hope Damian is alright…_

She thought, only to be joined in her mind by a now familiar voice:

_Don’t worry, I assure you that the boy is fine; in fact, he’s waiting for you._

Caught off guard by this, even gasping, though she didn’t let it interrupt her following of Bruce, Talia couldn’t help but respond; albeit in her mind rather than through words:

_You again? You’re a telepath?_

_You could say that…_

The voice remarked;

_But this connection is only between you and I. Do not worry; you are your father’s daughter, your mind shall persevere. Now, continue to the boy, preserve your hides._

Confused as she was about who this voice belonged to, having so many unanswered questions, she ultimately knew they had to wait. As the voice itself said, she had bigger things to worried about. Namely that of preserving her and Damian’s lives as this facility collapsed all around them. 

Luckily it wasn’t long before her and Bruce could see where their son was: on one of the catwalks, standing over a defeated Deathstroke - the latter laying on the ground, seemingly given not only more than a decent beating but also burned by scalding hot water released from one of the various valves around the chamber. Talia couldn’t help but smile proudly at the fact her son - who was but ten years of age, had so decisively defeated a man the size of and even older than Bruce. She also couldn’t help but notice that he was in the unmistakable ‘Robin’ uniform - albeit a better looking one than the original she remembered. The addition of a hooded cape suited him well, as did that of actual leggings and boots. Far more worthy of her son than that ‘exposed’ original costume.

  
  


Once her and Bruce were approaching Damian, the boy couldn’t help but run over to hug his mother - saying to her in the most relieved of tones:

“Mother…”

Very much appreciative of the lengths her son went to rescue her from the treacherous Deathstroke, Talia gently put a hand to his shoulders though didn’t yet have the time to really exchange much words with him - instead merely focusing on the fact the place around them was very much falling apart:

“Come” she said, the three of them soon after running right for the circular green light of an escape pod conveniently located just ahead of them, “Get in!”

Once all of them were seated within the pod, Talia wasted no time in pressing all of the buttons and flickering all of the switches necessary to get the pod to move upwards, soon jettisoning the lot of them out of the facility through the pipe that their pod was located in. Though as they found themselves ‘soaring’ towards freedom, that voice yet again found itself creeping into Talia’s mind:

_Once we are free of this wretched hive; what is it that you wish to do?_

Talia, taken aback by this, ‘said’ to him:

_I suppose I’ll have to restart the league._

  
  


It wasn’t long after finally being free from Deathstroke’s ‘lair’ that Talia found herself at a crossroads. She stood on a seaside rock in front of both Bruce and Damian who stood before her with a jet black League of Assasin’s boat behind her - a small bridge laid out for boarding, complete with various ninja-like warriors that served as it’s crew. As the salty waters crashed repeatedly into the rocks beneath their feet, cool breezes flowed their way all around them, and the sunset around them illuminated them all in a gorgeous orange light; she didn’t waste much time admiring the beauty though, having far more pertinent matters to discuss. Addressing Bruce, she spoke to him in ever a calm manner:

“I thank you for my life, and the life of my son.”

“Our son” - Bruce was fast to correct. As much she admired this ‘change of heart’ from when she first introduced Damian to Bruce, she still focused on her actual point:

“I need to rebuild the league” she explained, “Make it stronger, better….come with me” she then gestured out a hand, “You and I, together with Damian, would be _invincible_.”

Bruce, though there was a silent pause before he spoke, was dead serious as he answered Talia’s offer bluntly:

“The best way to rebuild the league is to disband it.”

_Beloved...why don’t you understand?_

Retracting her hand and closing her eyes, Talia bitterly accepted Bruce’s answer, though was quick to level with him regarding his ‘suggestion’, saying to him plainly:

“If only it were that easy.”

Just as she spoke those words, the two’s attention was brought over to footsteps approaching them - those of Damian’s. Albeit, he had his face mask off, exposing his glistening green eyes. As they saw him joining in on this moment, Bruce was quick to let Talia know his opinion - knowing full well what it was she was thinking:

“Damian should stay with me.”

Talia herself was quick to answer however, in fact having suspected her beloved might say that:

“He will want to be with his mother.”

“He’s Robin now” Bruce sternly remarked, “He stays with the Batman.”

Silently looking off at the sky for a brief moment, unsure what to do, she decided it best to turn to Damian himself while he stood idly by on the scene. Surely she was right in her hunch about his preferences; she assumed as such when she asked to him:

“Damian, are you ready to come?”

Bowing his head, Damian spoke calmly though had an unsure if not disheartened look to his face.

“If that’s your wish, mother…”

Noticing his melancholy, Talia went to her son and placed a hand on his soft head of black hair, petting it gently as she looked down onto him, with him returning the favor and looking back up at him before they then turned their attention over to Bruce - who was looking at the two of them in silence. Seeing a slight twitch in Batman’s look, becoming more of a glare, Talia without saying anything then kneeled down to Damian’s own level - both hands on his shoulders as she said to him without breaking eye contact:

“Learn from your father Damian, for he is very wise - and _you_ are the future.”

Without saying anymore words, Talia gave Damian a parting kiss on his soft forehead before standing herself back up - mother and son turning back over to Bruce. Exchanging these final looks and a fleeting touch of hands, Talia was on her way to board the ship as both Bruce and Damian watched from the land. Though half-way through the bridge, Talia couldn’t resist turning back to say but one promise:

“I will come back for him; make him _great_.”

“I will” Bruce replied, getting to view one final smile from Talia before she completed her boarding of the ship. Though Bruce and Damian did watch as her boat rode off into the sunset, what they would not get to see or even remotely know about was what happened once Talia was at her destination.

  
  


_LEAGUE OF ASSASIN’S HEADQUARTERS | 2013 AD_

Arriving at the isolated himalayan pagoda castle that served as the League of Assasin’s headquarters, Talia couldn’t help but look around and admire how much still stood even after Deathstroke’s ‘party’ was over. Walking through the front doors of the sacred place, escorted by a small troupe of soldiers, she found most of everything was still clean and intact. The floors were polished, and the walls were devoid of any ash or blood stains. The wounds of his usurpation were more internal rather than external however; as once she was at the balcony overlooking the large square where once all of the various soldiers practiced their daily training routine she took notice that there was a massive shortage of manpower following the ‘civil war’ that took place between herself and that upstart.

It was as she silently grimaced over this that she was approached and spoken to by two female figures:

“Ms al Ghul?”

Turning around, Talia laid her eyes upon two figures who unbeknownst to her would play significant roles in her life to come: Lady Shiva and Onyx. The former being an asian woman of dark shoulder length hair, while the latter was a bald, dark skinned woman who had over her eyes two line markings - on her forehead a single dot.

It was of course Shiva who was addressing Talia, with the utmost respect:

“What is to be done now?” she asked, her and Onyx both bowing their heads in respect of the woman they viewed as their leader.

Talia, turning to these two women and processing Shiva’s question well, responded accordingly:

“For now, we rest. Lay in the shadows and repair our numbers. When the time is right, we’ll be even greater than we ever were before.”

Onyx and Shiva nodded well to Talia’s words, even if it was merely her stating the obvious.

Not long after that exchange of words did Talia proceed to retire to her personal chambers - formerly those of her father’s. The first time she entered the room with the knowledge it was now hers and hers alone, she took in a deep breath. The emerald green sheets of silk that decorated the bed, the foldable room dividers portraying gorgeous scenes of rivers, flowers, birds and even dragons. The panels of the wooden floor beneath her heels, the gentle candles that provided warm light. The fact that everything looked pristine as though the room was brand new and never even occupied in the first place.

As much it was for her to take in, she was not present for the purpose of admiring a room.

Taking another deep breathe, Talia situated herself down on the floor and entered a meditation stance - closing her eyes as she let her mind take complete control, her body merely being left to breath in and out to sustain things; her mouth not even uttering out a single hum, not having the need to do so.

Once she was ‘mindful’ enough, she inevitably reached who it was she wanted to contact:

_We have a lot to discuss, Talia…_

The voice yet again spoke, it continuing to echo through her brain as if it were actually being spoken through her ears. Without even opening her eyes, she responded in much the same manner:

_That we do....though…_

_I am not going to force or demand anything from you in how you reconstruct that which I counseled your father on; I am merely going to offer as I did for him, counsel._

_And I accept your wise counsel, but I would appreciate some clarity. Some answers, if you will._

_Of course…._

_I’m presuming you are the force behind the lazarus pits?_

_That I am, among many other things in this world._

_That would explain how you know my father…_

_All who enter the pits, come to know me. Some more closely than others._

_I see....and what, may I ask, is your name?_

_My name?_

_Yes_

_You may call me…..Mephiles._


End file.
